Groups urge U.S. to probe ‘loot box’ on Electronic Arts video game

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - Consumer advocates on Thursday urged U.S. regulators to investigate online game maker Digital Arts Inc (EA.O) for what they say was the misleading use of a digital "loot field" that "aggressively" urges players to spend extra money whereas enjoying a well-liked soccer game.

The groups Fairplay, Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission to probe the EA sport "FIFA: Final Team".

Within the game, players build a soccer group utilizing avatars of actual gamers and compete against different groups. In a letter to the FTC, the teams mentioned the sport often costs $50 to $100 but that the company pushed push gamers to spend extra.

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"It entices players to purchase packs looking for particular gamers," mentioned the letter despatched by these teams together with the Client Federation of America and Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health and others.

The packs, or loot containers, are packages of digital content material sometimes purchased with actual cash that give the purchaser a possible advantage in a recreation. They can be bought with digital currency, which can obscure how a lot is spent, they stated.

"The chances of opening a coveted card, comparable to a Participant of the 12 months, are miniscule except a gamer spends thousands of dollars on factors or performs for hundreds of hours to earn cash," the groups mentioned in the letter.

Electronic Arts said in a press release on Thursday that of the game's hundreds of thousands of gamers, 78% haven't made an in-game purchase.

"Spending is always non-compulsory," an organization spokesperson stated in an electronic mail statement. "We encourage using parental controls, together with spend controls, which are out there for every main gaming platform, together with EA's personal platforms."

The spokesperson additionally mentioned the corporate created a dashboard so players would monitor how much time they played, how many packs they opened and what purchases had been made.

The FTC, which goes after companies engaged in misleading conduct, held a workshop on loot packing containers in 2019. In a "staff perspective" which followed, the agency famous that video game microtransactions have turn into a multibillion-dollar market.

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Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington Editing by David Gregorio and Matthew Lewis

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